Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

See what students say:

Academics

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts just graduated its twelfth class in 2017, but it's already taking the engineering world by storm with its rigorous hands-on program on the "bleeding edge of engineering education." Olin stresses creating one's own academic path to its 350 undergraduates: The curriculum weaves independent studies and co-curriculars seamlessly throughout four years of "learning skills through project-based learning in order to use engineering and design for the good of the world." At the end of their time at Olin, students emerge as engineers with "fantastic and practical technical skillsets" that they are able to wield in a variety of settings. Classes are "hard, but interesting and worthwhile," and students are also able to take courses at nearby Babson and Wellesley. Classes traditionally involve breaking into small groups, and "most problems dividing work in teams have to do with students getting too excited about the work and doing more than their fair share rather than shirking group duties," says one student. Self-directed study is important here, and Olin encourages students to design their own semester-long project on a topic that interests them through the college's Passionate Pursuits program.

Professors are "extremely dedicated" to the work they are doing at Olin. "I have had professors come to campus at 10 pm because they heard that students were struggling with homework assignments, and stay until well after midnight," says one. Uniqueness is everywhere: There is a tremendous amount of flexibility in the classroom, with almost no lectures; TAs are referred to as Ninjas; and every semester there's at least one new experimental course ("and the classes that aren't new are better than they were last semester"). Faculty are "interested in how their teaching works," and there is "constant improvement in the curriculum and learning styles." At the end of the day, "Olin doesn't create engineers, it prepares them."

Student Body

Franklin W. Olin hosts an "incredibly intelligent and very motivated" body of individuals that are "not your typical engineer." Because of the nature of the student body, you can join any group of people at any time and know that they will be having an interesting discussion. "If one wants to have a conversation on middle eighteenth-century philosophy or if the earth suddenly stopped would we go flying off into space, both are easily found in the dining hall," says a student. With 80 or so new students flipping each year, some qualities of the student body are "easily changeable" (athleticism, for instance), but this remains a fun group in which "everybody has something that gets them so excited they could stay up all night working on it."

Campus Life

There are "lots of things happening for such a small school." For starters, people "work...a lot." Students work all day every day and "all the rest of the time seems to get filled by working on random interests." "If a person here did not have an outside pursuit that they were actively working on they may face ridicule," says a student of clubs that include robotics, fire spinning, and electric cars. Still, this quirky and innovative group makes time to go on a quick adventure and "explore the local forest, make a code that does something stupid, or eat chips and watch YouTube videos" in the "hotel-room-sized dorms."

For first-years and sophomores, lounge culture is really big in the dorms, and "if you ever want something to do, just explore the lounges and you will find something." It's easy for students to get to Boston, and "there are always students up for spontaneous fun things" like sudden dodgeball in the dining hall or a random dance party. There's even a mailing list called Carpe Diem in which "people randomly send out info on fun things they are doing all the time so others can join." A lot of the things students do in their spare time are the same things they do for school, because "what we're doing in class is genuinely fun."

ROI & Outcomes

Students Say

The typical Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering graduate has a starting salary of around $68,200. Students feel that Olin does a great job at "providing students with opportunities such as jobs, internships, and research." One student says, "I got a paid internship after my first year here. How many undergraduates can say they made $20/hr right after freshman year?" Nearly all students agree that Olin's project- based learning model is fantastic for "preparing students for jobs in the real world." The Office of Post-Graduate Planning does its part to help students plan for the future by hosting job and internship fairs, career exploration workshops as well as offering a database of job and internship leads.

Sustainability

Campus Security Report

The Jeanne Clery Act requires colleges and universities to disclose their security policies, keep a public crime log, publish an annual crime report and provide timely warnings to students and campus employees about a crime posing an immediate or ongoing threat to students and campus employees.

The Princeton Review publishes links directly to each school's Campus Security Reports where available. Applicants can also access all school-specific campus safety information using the Campus Safety and Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool provided by the Office of Postsecondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education: http://ope.ed.gov/security